Tips for Avoiding Addiction Relapse

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Unfortunately, relapse is a part of addiction and recovery. Addiction relapse occurs at the same rate as relapse does with any other disease. Fortunately, there are tricks to reduce your chances of a relapse.

Keep your Stress Level Down

Addiction Relapse

Taking part in exercise and a healthy diet will strengthen your recovery efforts.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is a key component of both starting a drug addiction and a result of it. By keeping your stress level low, you can help to avoid relapse. This means avoiding high stress situations when you are new to recovery and learning to deal with stressful situations without drugs.

Learn Relaxation Techniques

By learning relaxation techniques, you can calm cravings and reduce your stress levels. Many of the typical relaxation techniques work well when you are recovering from drug addiction. These techniques are normally taught during treatment.

Meditate

Meditation is an excellent way to focus your mind and heal the body. It can be done anywhere at any time. Learning to meditate is a vital skill when it comes to dealing with cravings and stressful situations. By clearing your mind, you can relax the body and avoid relapse due to craving drugs or alcohol.

Exercise

Exercise plays a vital role in your overall health. It accomplishes a dual purpose by keeping your body in shape and giving you something to do when you are craving drugs or alcohol. Exercise also releases endorphins into the blood and brain which take the place of some of the dopamine that the drugs used to provide before you were in recovery.

Eat a Nutritious Diet

Good nutrition is a big part of being healthy. In order to recover from addiction without relapse, you need to make sure you are getting everything your body needs. Addiction can sap your body of essential nutrients, part of recovery and avoiding relapse is to replenish these nutrients.

Keep a Journal to Identify your Triggers

According to the New York State Unified Court System, triggers are things that cause an emotional reaction or connection to the drug use. By learning and identifying your trigger you can avoid them whenever possible. Keeping a journal of the things that cause you to crave drugs helps to identify what might cause you to relapse.

Avoid your Triggers

Avoiding your triggers before you learn to deal with them will help you avoid a relapse. You will need to avoid:

These triggers often cause relapse. Avoiding them is sometimes your only option to making a full recovery without a relapse.